Sabarimala temple opens to pilgrims but it is still a long wait for women

Sabarimala temple opens to pilgrims but it is still a long wait for women

The temple currently doesn't allow girls and women of menstruating age,
between 10 and 50 years, to enter the sanctum sanctorum.

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Revathi Rajeevan

November 16, 2016

UPDATED: November 30, 2016 13:46 IST

Sabarimala Temple is still a no-go for women. (File photo: PTI)

HIGHLIGHTS

Women between 10 and 50 years of age not allowed to enter Sabarimala

Kerala High Court in 1991 banned the entry of women to the shrine

Kerala government recently said it supports women's entry to temple

As Sabarimala temple opened to yet another pilgrim season, it is still a long wait for women before they could be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum and offer their prayers.

The temple currently doesn't allow girls and women of menstruating age, between 10 and 50 years, to enter the sanctum sanctorum.

While the debate on allowing women entry to the temple continues in the apex court, for many, especially those have reached menopause but are not 50 yet, the refusal is frustrating.

WANTED TO VISIT SHRINE WITH HUSBAND

Rajeshwari was married off at the age of 15. Since then, every time her husband went to Sabarimala, she wished to join him. Today, 47-year-old Rajeshwari is ready to enter Sannidhanam (the main temple at Sabarimala) but without her husband, who died eight years ago.

Given the size of the crowd that visits the shrine, security guards don't check the id proofs of everyone. Rajeshwari feels she can try to slip inside.

"I will be very happy if the court allows women of all ages to enter. For god, what's the difference between a man and a woman? I have a 22-year-old daughter. She wants to come to the temple too," says Rajeshwari, who has with nine others including three women from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu.

I AM 49, WHAT IS MY FAULT

A few meters away, Narasamma's eyes have welled up. She has travelled from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, to visit the temple. She is a few months shy of turning 50, and therefore not eligible to enter the Sannidhanam. Other women in her group have managed to get inside the temple, she says.

"Several women try sneaking in. Some come dressed as men but we can spot them just by looking at their face. We can tell what their age could be. It doesn't matter if they have reached menopause or not, what matters is their age," says Pankajakshiamma, a security guard at the temple entrance.

The Kerala High Court in 1991 banned the entry of women between ages 10 and 50 to the Sabarimala shrine during any time of the year. The Supreme Court has now accepted petitions to review the judgement. The Kerala government recently said that it supported women's entry to the temple.